Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo

Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo (25 June 1929-25 March 1966) was the Maharajah of Bastar from 28 October 1936 to 15 August 1947, succeeding Prafulla Kumari Devi and preceding Vijay Chandra Bhanj Deo.

Biography
Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo was born in Jagdalpur, Bastar on 25 June 1929 to a Hindu Odia family. He was educated at Rajkumar College in Rajpur, and he succeeded to the throne of Bastar in 1936. Pravir was immensely popular among his people for championing tribal rights, and he was forced to become a subject of India in 1947 during the Partition of India. He was elected to the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1957, and he opposed the exploitation of natural resources in the region and corruption in land reforms, leading to him being perceived as a threat by the ruling Indian National Congress. On 25 March 1966, Pravir was executed on the steps of his own palace by police, who also killed 11 other courtiers and tribals of his royal court.